Remarks by the President at Bush-Cheney 2004 Reception
Wyndham Anatole Hotel
Dallas, Texas

6:16 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Laura and I are thrilled
to be here, it is great to be home. (Applause.) It's really fun for
us to see a lot of our old buddies -- some of our young buddies, too.
(Laughter.) This is our first trip back to Texas since I got back from
Africa. You may remember we were over there, and we went to a park in
Botswana. (Laughter.) That's where we learned a lot about our party's
mascot. (Laughter.)

I want to thank you all for your help. Thanks a lot. It means a
lot to Laura and me. We love Texas and we love our friends, and we
want to thank our friends for helping us. You're laying the foundation
for what is going to be a great victory in November of 2004.
(Applause.)

I'm getting ready. (Laughter.) Loosening up. (Laughter.) But
I'm going to have to count on you to energize the grass roots and to
make the phone calls and to put up the signs and to address the
envelopes and remind everybody that our message is so positive and
hopeful for every citizen of this state and this country. (Applause.)

The political season will come in its own time. But right now, I'm
focused on the people's business in our nation's capital. I have a job
to do and we have a lot on our agenda. And I will continue to work
hard to earn the confidence of all America by keeping this nation
strong and secure, free and prosperous. (Applause.)

I am thrilled that Laura's here. (Applause.) She is a fabulous
First Lady. (Applause.) And I love her dearly. (Laughter.) She is
just a steady rock. (Applause.) And has been a great comforter for a
lot of Americans during some of our difficult times.

I appreciate our governor. I want to thank him for his
introduction. (Applause.) I thank him for his introduction; more
importantly, I thank him for his great leadership for the state of
Texas. (Applause.) He is governor during some tough times for this
state, and he has led with courage and vision and the state of Texas is
better off with Rick Perry as the governor. (Applause.)

I know we've got quite a few of the mighty Texas congressional
delegation with us today. And I'm going to tell you something, it's
really good to have steady support in the House of Representatives from
our fellow Texans, Texans like Joe Barton and Michael Burgess, Kay
Granger and Jeff Hensarling and Sam Johnson. I want to thank all of
them for their service to our state and to our nation. (Applause.)

I know our able Lieutenant Governor is here, and I want to thank
David Dewhurst for his service to the state of Texas. (Applause.) And
the Speaker of the House, my fellow Midland, Texan citizen, Tommy
Craddick. (Applause.) I want to thank Tom for his service. Thank you
Tom, and Nadine. I saw Marchant and Branch, two fine members of the
Texas House. It's good to see you all.

I appreciate so very much my close personal friend, Mercer
Reynolds. He's the national finance chairman for the Bush Cheney '04
campaign. I want to thank Mercer for his hard work. I want to thank
my close friend, Fred Meyer, for being the Texas State Finance
Chairman. I thank Jeanne Johnson Phillips and Roger Williams for being
the finance vice chairmen for our campaign here. I want to thank all
of you who worked hard to raise this money. I appreciate your help.
(Applause.)

Finally, I want to thank the Gatlin boys -- (applause) -- for
bringing their mother. (Laughter.)

In the last two-and-a-half years, our nation has acted decisively
to confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems,
not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations.
(Applause.) I came to seize opportunities instead of letting them slip
away. We are meeting the tests of our time. (Applause.)

Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
what they got. We have captured or killed many leaders of al Qaeda.
And the rest of them know we're on their trail. (Applause.) In
Afghanistan and Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those
regimes chose defiance and those regimes are no more. (Applause.)
Fifty million people in those two countries once lived under tyranny,
and now they live under freedom. (Applause.)

Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the
resources it needed and morale was beginning to suffer. We increased
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And,
today, no one in the world can question the skill and the strength and
the spirit of the United States military. (Applause.)

Two-and-a-half years ago we inherited an economy in recession. And
then the attacks happened on our country. And there were corporate
scandals and war -- all affected the people's confidence. But we
acted. We passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to
account. And to get the economy going again, we have twice led the
United States Congress to pass historic tax relief for the people of
this country. (Applause.)

We know that when Americans have more take home pay to spend, to
save or to invest, the whole economy grows, and people are more likely
to find a job. We understand whose money we spend in Washington, D.C.
It is not the government's money, it is the people's money.
(Applause.)

We're returning more money to people to help them raise their
families. We're reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to
encourage investment. We are giving small businesses incentives to
expand and to hire people. With all these actions, we have laid the
foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs, so that every single
American in our country can realize the great hope of the American
Dream. (Applause.)

Two-and-a-half years ago there was a lot of talk about education
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for, and Congress
passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid, bipartisan
majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a
generation. We're bringing high standards and strong accountability
measures to every public school in America. We believe, and strongly
believe, that every child can learn the basics of reading and math.
And we expect every school to teach the basics of reading and math.
(Applause.)

We are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. The days
of excuse making are over. We expect results in every classroom so
that not one single child in America is left behind. (Applause.)

We reorganized the government and created the Department of
Homeland Security to safeguard our borders and ports and to better
protect the American people. We passed trade promotion authority to
open up new markets for our entrepreneurs and farmers and ranchers and
manufacturers. We passed a budget agreement that is helping to
maintain spending discipline in Washington, D.C.

On issue after issue, this administration has acted on principle,
has kept its word and has made progress on behalf of the American
people. (Applause.) The United States Congress has shared in these
great achievements. I appreciate the leadership of Speaker Hastert and
Leader Frist. I want to thank the hard work of many members of the
Congress. We're going to continue to work together, to change the tone
in Washington, D.C. and to focus on results.

And those are the kind of -- the nature of the men and women I have
asked to serve in my administration. I have put together a fantastic
team on behalf of America. (Applause.) These are people who
understand their job is to serve all Americans. Our country has had no
finer Vice President than Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Although mother
may have a different opinion. (Laughter.)

In two-and-a-half years, we have come far, but we're only
beginning. I have set great goals, worthy of this great nation.
First, America is committed to expanding the realm of freedom and peace
for our own security and for the benefit of the world. And, second, in
our own country, we must work for a society of prosperity and
compassion, so that every citizen has a chance to work, to succeed, and
to realize the promise of our country.

It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend upon the
actions of America. This nation is freedom's home and freedom's
defender. We welcome this charge of history and we are keeping it.
(Applause.) Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are
not idle, and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not
tire, we will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.)

Yet, our national interest involves more than eliminating
aggressive threats to our safety. Our greatest security comes from the
advance of human liberty, because free nations do not support terror.
Free nations do not attack their neighbors. Free nations do not
threaten the world with weapons of mass terror. Americans believe that
freedom is the deepest need and the deepest hope of every human heart.
And we believe that freedom is the right of every person and the future
of every nation. (Applause.)

America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we
see disease and starvation and hopelessness, we will not turn away.
Laura and I just came from Africa. America is now committed to
bringing the healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and
children who suffer with AIDS. (Applause.) This great, strong,
compassionate nation is leading the world in this incredibly important
work of human rescue.

We face challenges here at home, and our actions will prove that we
are equal to those challenges. I will continue to work on our economy
until everybody who wants to work and is not working today can find a
job.

We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. (Applause.) Recently, the
Congress took historic action to improve the lives of our older
Americans. For the first time since the creation of Medicare, the
House and the Senate have passed reforms to increase choices for
seniors and to provide prescription drug coverage. The next step is
for both Houses to come together to iron out the details and to get a
good bill to my desk. (Applause.)

And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on
the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine.
(Applause.) I want to thank Governor Perry and the Lieutenant Governor
and the Speaker for passing meaningful, real medical liability reform.
(Applause.)

People who have been harmed by a bad doctor deserve their day in
court. Yet, the system should not reward lawyers who are simply
fishing for rich settlements -- because frivolous lawsuits drive up the
cost of health care at the national level. Medical liability reform is
a national issue that requires a national solution. (Applause.) The
House of Representatives has passed a good bill, it is stalled in the
Senate. For the sake of a good health care system, the United States
Senate must act. (Applause.)

I have a responsibility as the President to make sure the judicial
system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb
men and women, like Priscilla Owen, for our federal courts.
(Applause.) Good people, who will interpret the law, not legislate
from the bench. Yet, some members of the Senate are trying to keep my
nominees off the bench by blocking up or down votes. Every judicial
nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up or down vote on the Senate
floor. It is time for some members of the United States Senate to stop
playing politics with American justice. (Applause.)

This Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our
nation must promote energy efficiency and conservation. We must
develop cleaner technologies. We must explore in environmentally
friendly ways. Yet, for the sake of economic security and national
security, we need to become less dependent on foreign sources of
energy. (Applause.)

Our strong and prosperous nation must be a compassionate nation. I
will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate conservatism,
applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our
fellow citizens in need.

There are still millions of men and women who want to end their
dependence on government and become independent through hard work. We
must build on the success of welfare reform, to bring work and dignity
into the lives of more of our fellow citizens.

Congress should complete the citizens service act so that more
Americans can serve their communities and their country. And both
Houses should reach agreement on my faith-based initiative to support
the armies of compassion that are mentoring children, that are caring
for the homeless, that are offering hope to the addicted.

A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society
in America. We want more of our citizens owning their own home. We
want people to own and manage their own health care account and their
own retirement account. We want more people to own their small
business because we understand when an American owns something, he or
she has a vital stake in the future of our country. (Applause.)

In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture
of America from one that has said, if it feels good, do it, and, if
you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to a culture in which each
of us understands that we are responsible for the decisions we make in
life. If you're fortunate to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible for
your child. (Applause.)

If you're concerned about the quality of the education in your
community, you are responsible for doing something about it. If you're
a CEO in America, you are responsible to tell the truth to your
employees and your shareholders. (Applause.) And in this new
responsibility society, each of us is responsible for loving our
neighbor, just like we'd like to be loved ourself. (Applause.)

We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans to extend a
compassionate hand to neighbors in need. And the response has been
very strong. Our charities and our faith-based institutions are strong
and vibrant all across our country. They're helping people who cry out
for help. Policemen and firefighters and people who wear our nation's
uniform are reminding us what it means to sacrifice for something
greater than yourself. Once again, the children of America believe in
heros because they see them every day.

In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
courage of America. And I have been privileged to see the compassion
and the character of the American people. All the tests of the last
two-and-a-half years have come to the right nation. (Applause.)

We are a strong country and we use our strength to defend the
peace. We're an optimistic country, confident in ourselves and in
ideals bigger than ourselves. Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by
spreading freedom. At home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading
opportunity to every corner of America. This is the work that history
has set before us. We welcome it. And we know that for our country
and for our cause, better days lie ahead. (Applause.)